Process of refining hydrocarbon oils



Patented May 29, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE.-"

HENRY M. LASHER, OF KANSAS CITY,

KANSAS, ASSIGNOB TO THE CITY GASOLINE COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, A CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

PROCESS or nnrmmo nrnnocamson orns.

No Drawing. Application filed June 23, 1920, Serial No 391,184. Renewed September 12, 19:22.v Serial v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. LASHER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the county of \Vyandotte and State of 'ansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Procemes of Refining Hydrocarbon-Oils, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of producing low boiling hydrocarbons from those having higher boiling points and belongs to the same group of inventions described in my prior copending applications filed April 23, 1920, Serial Number 376,103; filed (as to 1 petition, specification and fee without drawmg) May 13, 1920; filed March 12, 1920, Serial Number 365,351; and filed (no drawing) May 8, 1920, Serial Number 380,431.

In the aforesaid prior a plications I have described and claimed difi rent phases of a process, and some apparatus for practicing the same, involving the distribution of heat and the breaking down of the molecular structure of hydrocarbons, by placing carbon or equivalent substances therein. have found that with these substances used in the manner I have descr'bed in said applications the element of pressure heretofore relied upon can be practically eliminated. In

other words, as I have heretofore pointed out, it is possible to produce an increased conversion, and otherwise to improve the operation, even by comparison with the best processes relying upon pressure, with practically no pressure above atmospheric.

In the present process I employ as the material to be placed in the oil during heating, sodium chloride. The material is placed on a shelf suspended in the liquid hydrocarbon -10 under treatment, similar to that described in my pending application Serial Number 376,103, above mentioned, all the apparatus employed being the same as describedtherein. The sodium chloride is in subdivided form, which maybe fine or coarse without apparent difi'erence in the result. When heat is applied to the still containing the oil with the sodium chloride suspended therein, first the natural run of gasoline and the natural run of kerosene are drawn off in a manner well understood in the art. During this part of the process I introduce steam into the lower part of the still at a oint submerged beneath the oil an p e b y' y means of a horizontal pipe extending from end to end of the still near the bottom thereof, with a row of discharge vents or holes in its underside, whereby the steam enters the oil in adownward direction and agitates the entire mass, producing a sort of artificial ebullition besides furthering the format1on of vapor and its disengagement from the mass of oil. Outside the still the steam pipe 1s provided with a cut-off valve. I lay no claimto this preliminary use of steam as such, and do not illustrate it for this reason. I mention it, however, because it is necessary to the successful continuance of the steps in the process that the steam be cut off after withdrawing the natural run of kerosene, at the point where cracking be- Heat being applied to the boiler as usual in any desired manner, is apparently taken up by the sodium chloride, as active crackmg proceeds, and the sodium chloride becomes covered, and penetrated with and by deposited carbon formed as a residuum. The heat is then continued as long as desired and by the use of a proper fractionator with a run-back such as described in my aforesaid application No. 365,351, practically complete conversion can be effected. By carefully adjusting the frac-tionator so that all heavier fractions will run back, entire conversion into gasoline and residual carbon can be attained. 'Where it is desired to efi'ect the same complete conversion into fractions including both kerosene and gasoline, as these terms are employed in the trade, the fractionator is properly set, but as a corollary to the production of the kerosene, gasoline will always be produced.

By having the fractionator built with a number of taps off at different heights, which is well understood by those skilled in this art, and by varying the height to which the vapors have to rise in order to go to the condenser, not only can kerosene fractions be included, amounts of kerosene and gasoline can be varied at will. In other words a very nice line of division can be established between the vapors which are thrown into the runback pipe by gravity and re-converted or recracked and those which go over either direct to the condenser or to any other fractionating system desired.

but the relative component The action of sodium chloride in this way, and particularly the condition of the chloride when removed from the still, leads me to the belief that While there may be some catalytic action as ordinarily understood, and while there must be some conversion of heat waves by the sodium chloride itself, the final efl'ect in cracking is due in large measwe to the deposit of carbon thereon during the process of cracking itself. In my prior application No. 365,351 I have claimed the process of cracking by heating the oil under low pressure in the presence of coal, carhon, carbon compounds, or the equivalent thereof. My purpose in the present application is to cover and protect the discovery I have made that similar results may be obtained by the use of sodium chloride.

I claim:

The process of cracking petroleum oil which consists in heating the same to cracklng temperature at low pressure with a subdivided mass of sodium chloride suspended in the liquid.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

HENRY M. LAS ER. 

